Reclining attachment for chairs.



' F. E. BARNIGKLE. REGLINING ATTACHMENT FOR CHAIRS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.11, 1907.

Patented Feb. 16, 1909.

llhll'ill.) PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK E. BARNIOKLE, OF ROCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE, ASSIGNOR TO FRANK S.BARBIAN, OF ROCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

REOLINING ATTACHIJIIJHT FOR CHAIRS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 16, 1909.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK E. BARNIGKLE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Rochester, county of Strafford, State of New Hampshire, haveinvented an Improvement in Reclining Attachments for Chairs, of whichthe following description, in connection with the accompanying drawing,is a specification, like numerals on the drawing representing likeparts.

This invention has for its object to provide a novel attachment forchairs which is adapted to support the chair firmly in a tilted orreclining position. The device is arranged so that it can be attached toa chair without disfiguring it, and when a person is sitting in thechair having my improved attachment applied thereto, such person maytilt back in the chair and be firmly supported in a tilted positionwithout the necessity of resting the chair against a wall or without thenecessity of the person placing his feet on a desk, table or othersupport.

I will first describe some embodiments of my invention and then pointout the novel features thereof in the appended claim.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a chair having myattachment applied thereto; Fig. 2 is a side view of the chair showingthe position of the attachment when it is not in use; Fig. 3 is anenlarged side view of the hinge or bracket for securing the attachmentto the chair; Fig. 4 is an enlarged section on the line :c:u, Fig. 3Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view through the shoe at the bottom endof the rest or support; Fig. 6 is a section on the line a a Fig. 5; Fig.7 is a side view of a modified form of bracket for pivotally attachinthe device to a chair; Fig. 8 is a section on the line bl) Fig. 7.

According to my invention, the chair is held in its reclining positionby a brace or support 3 which is adapted to be pivotally attached to theback of any chair having rear uprights. In the present embodiment thisbrace is substantially ll-shape, as shown, and may be made of a piece ofwire bent to the proper shape. The upper ends of the two arms of thebrace or support are hinged to the chair by means of brackets 4.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs.

and is secured thereto by suitable screws 6, which body portion isformed with the integral boss 7 having a horizontally-extending aperture8 therein. The upper ends 9 of each of the arms of the brace are bentoutwardly to form trunnions which extend through and are journaled inthe apertures 8. Preferably the ends of the trunnions will be headedover slightly, as shown at 10, to prevent the trunnions from beingwithdrawn from the brackets when the device is in use. Extending fromeach bracket is a stop arm 11. Each stop arm is situated below the boss7 and extends rearwardly from the body portion, and the end 12 of eachstop arm is bent inwardly, as best seen in Fig. 4, said inwardly-bentportion 12 being situated to have engagement with the arm of the braceto limit the swinging movement thereof. The lower end of the brace orsupport has applied thereto a shoe 13 of rubber or other suitablematerial adapted to have good frictional engagement with the floor. Thisshoe is made with the slot or recess 14 in its upper end which isadapted to receive the apex 15 of the brace or support 3, and in orderto hold the shoe in place, I preferably provide it with one or moreprojections 16 which extend inwardly from the walls of the slot andwhich are situated in the apex of the brace 3 when the shoe is appliedto the brace. This construction makes one in which the shoe can bereadily put in place and will be securely held in place after it hasbeen applied. The bottom 17 of the shoe is preferably corrugated, asshown, and made on a slight inclination so that it will rest squarelyagainst the fioor when the brace is in use.

I prefer to make the face 18 of the body 5 that rests against the chairslightly hollowing, as best seen in Fig. 4, so that the brackets can beattached to any chair having rear uprights, whether the uprights aresquare or round in cross section. I also prefer to make the apertures 8in the bosses larger at their inner ends than at their outer ends, theouter ends of the apertures being of a size to fit the trunnions. Thisconstruction permits of the brackets to be placed in slightly differentangular positions on the chair without interfering in any way with thefree swinging movement of the support. This is 1 to 6, each bracket 4has the body portion 5 quite important because sometimes the which restsagainst the back face of the chair backs of the chalrs are warped ortwisted slightly, and sometimes the faces of the uprights do not standexactly in the same plane, 7

In Figs. 7 and 8 I have illustrated a modified form of the invention inwhich the bracket is so arranged that it can be applied to the chair atslightly different angles whereby the position of the stop arm 1 1 maybe changed or adjusted so that the brace or support can be swung awayfrom the chair more or less as desired. In this embodiment of myinvention the bracket is provided with the sire piece 20 which isadapted to overlie the side of. the upright of the chair, as plainlyseen in Figs. 7 and 8, said bracket also being provided with the rest 21which engages the back face of the chair leg. The bracket is furtherprovided with the apertured boss 7 having an aperture S of varyindiameter, as above described, and with the stop arm 11 beneath the bossand extending rearwardly and with its end 12 curved inwardly, all asshovm in the modification shown in Figs. 1 to 6. In this embodiment ofthe invention the bracket is held in place on the chair by two screws22, 25, one of which passes through an aperture 23, and the other ofwhich extends through a slot 24. By loosening the screw 25 the bracketcan be turned slightly about the screw 22, th reby raising or leasingthe stop arm sli pitly, and in this way the elevation of said stop armmay be adjusted as desired.

I will also preferably provide the brace with the cross piece 26 nearits lower end to which a chain or other flexible connection 27 may besecured which chain or flexible con nection may also be secui ed to theseat of the chair, as at 28. This chain constitutes an added means forlimiting the extent of backward movement of the brace. In the drawings Ihave shown this cross piece 26 as in the shoe strikes the floor.

This link is prevented from sliding up the alinement with the rear legs,as shovm in Fig. 2, and the brackets are then attached to the rearuprights of the chair above the seat. vv'hen a person desires to tiltback in his chair, said person first sits in the chair, then reachesbehind the chair and swings the brace backwardly to the limit of itsmovement and then tilts back in the chair until Since the brace isattached to the chair uprights above the seat of the chair, as shown, avery secure and firm support is afforded for the chair. It is importantthat the brace should be pivotally connected to the chair above the seatportion for the reasons stated above.

I have not attempted to describe herein all embodiments of my invention,but have selected two preferred embodiments only for the purpose ofillustrating the same.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is In a reclining attachment for chairs, thecombination with a support or rest presenting two connected arms havinga divergent arrangement each bent at its upper end to form a trunnion,of two brackets for pivotallj connecting the support to the back of achair, a link loosely surrounding the support near its apex, a shoe onsaid support below the link, and a chain or flexible connectionconnected to the link and adapted to be secured to the seat of thechair.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

FRANK E. BARNICKLE.

VJitnesses THOMAS J. DRUMMOND, LOUIS C. SMITH.

